Ricky Gervais isn't happy with the state of British TV. Not enough writing talent, he says, and not enough ambition. If only it was like America.
"The Sopranos, 24, CSI, The Wire, bang! We've got nothing like that. Nothing! It's such a big gap," says Gervais.
He's not impressed by our homegrown comedy efforts either. Apart from Extras and The Office, presumably. Oh, and he likes Peep Show.
"They're always the same people," he said. "The same people write for I Love the Seventies as some new satirical show on BBC3. Hold on - have we really only got 10 people?"
He's not wrong there. Check out the writing credits on any panel, sketch or chatshow and you will see the same old names cropping up with monotonous regularity. But is that a lack of talent or willingness on behalf of producers and commissioning editors to try out new writers?
Gervais isn't finished yet. "It's different in America. They're good, they're funny. They do stand-up and by the time they're 31 they've got their own sitcom because they're good.
"You don't see many 40-year-old hack writers in America. They get fired if they're no good. It's like natural selection."
And don't even start comparing our TV stars to the States. "Comparing our celebrities to America is like comparing Blackpool to Las Vegas. It's division two."
So has Gervais, fresh from writing an episode of the Simpsons, got a point? Or has he come over all starry eyed after spending too long in tinseltown?
